Infinity
by earthflight
Summary: What happens when an evil dictator takes over the entire pokemon world? Will this rag-tag group of pokemon be able to stop them? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Infinity

Chapter 1-The End

Joe is a portly man in his mid-thirties with a bald head and friendly demeanor. He was working at his usual job at the pokemart in Slateport city stocking shelves with more potions when he heard someone come into his store.

"Hey Joe." He heard from behind.

Joe stopped restocking to turn around and see who was calling him.

"Well I'll be." said Joe in his usual friendly voice. "If it isn't young Thomas back from his trip to the Orange islands!"

"It's good to see you again Joe." said Thomas as he clasped his hand. "It's been forever since I've been back here."

"You've been gone for nearly two months!" Joe exclaimed.

"Yeah it's good to be back home. I've missed this place since I left."

"So how was your trip anyway? Catch any new pokemon?"

"Actually." Thomas said as he stepped to the side.

Standing behind him was Thomas' new Munchlax. It smiled and waved at Joe.

"This is my new partner Munchlax."

"Well I'll be. It's nice to meet you." Joe said indicating to the Munchlax.

As Joe and Thomas continued their conversation, something was taking place far away in the land of Orre atop Mt. Battle.

"Are we all gathered?" one voice said.

"Victini is not here" said another

"I don't think Deoxys is here either. Or Giratina." Another voice added "And where is Arceus?"

"Did you really expect him to arrive?" the first voice replied.

There was a large dark cloud hanging over Mt. Battle that day. Several dark shadows of all different sizes were gathered around in a circle on the edge of a dais at the very top of the mountain. In the middle of the dais was a large brazier as the only light source. One shadow stepped, or rather floated, out of the gloom toward the center of the circle. "Enough. I think we could just assume this is all that's coming today and get started." The voice belonged to the legendary voice of the forest Celibe. "As we all know the issue that has been raised and therefore the meaning behind this congregation, is that humans are destroying the planet and enslaving all the pokemon on it. We have heard of two solutions to this problem: Do nothing and let this great injustice continue, or, use our powers to alter time and space to make it so humans never existed leaving pokemon as the dominate species."

"Who said you could start with the opening statements?" said a hulking shadow in the gloom.

"I was the one who first realized this issue and suggested this meeting, Groudon, and I was merely stating why we are all here."

At that moment Groudon stepped out of the shadows. "I just think that this isn't an issue at all. Just because a few humans want to use pokemon to control the planet doesn't make them all bad."

Celibe drifted closer to Groudon and said, "You claim that there are only a few humans that want to abuse pokemon for their own gains, but it is much more than that. There are entire organizations hell-bent on capturing pokemon like us and taking our power by force just so they can get what they want!"

"But that doesn't make them all bad!" Groudon screamed back. "There are humans who try to stop those organizations, who treat their pokemon right, who would never force them to do something that they didn't want to do. Like the ones that rescued you when you were in trouble. And besides, even if they were as bad as you claim that is no reason to wipe them from existence! All creatures have a right to live."

"We are the makers and protectors of this planet and we have a right to protect all of its creatures." Celibe responded calmly.

"That includes Humans!" At that moment a large dark vortex opened in the middle of the circle right under Celibe interrupting their argument.

"Ah. Looks like Giratina finally made an appearance." Celibe said spitefully as she floated out of the way.

The brazier fell through the vortex and disappeared, shrouding the area in darkness. Soon after, a large glowing figure was emerging from the other side. In a matter of moments Giratina fully emerged and the vortex disappeared. "Sorry I'm late." Giratina said as he landed gently in the center of the dais, "I had some last minute things I had to take care of."

"Like what, sleeping?" Giratina shot Celibe a dirty look and made his way over to stand in the surrounding circle of pokemon.

Girantina and Celibe have a long standing feud going. Nobody is quite sure when or how it started, not even them, just that they have always hated each other.

"The point remains," Said Darkrai once Giratina took his place. "Is that humans are a plague on this planet and they need to be dealt with."

"But extinction is not the answer!" Cresselia shouted.

"Of course you would say that." Darkrai sneered. "You never could bring yourself to do what was necessary."

"Unlike you who's response for everything is to kill first and ask questions later!"

"Stop it! Both of you!" interjected Rayquaza, "We can't let our personal problems distract us from the matter at hand. I for one don't really care what happens to the humans, but since we are actually trying to accomplish something here we have to be level-headed about it."

"I think making them vanish is to light a punishment!" Thundurus shouted as he floated into the center of the circle to address the crowd. "I think there should be a third option: enslaving all the humans and let them see what it's like!"

"That's right!" shouted Tornadus as he floated down to join Thundrus. "For once we agree. They should get a taste of their own medicine."

"Hmmm," Celibe pondered, "Fine we can add that to the list of possible solutions once we vote on what to do."

"But…that's mean." Came a meek voice from the shadows. It belonged to Meloetta who shrank away when everyone looked toward her. She had always been a shy and nervous pokemon, especially when addressing a crowd. "I…I mean…that's just not right to enslave them." She practically whispered.

"She's right!" said Groudon, "and if we were to abuse the humans, we wouldn't be any better than how you make them seem!" he said as he pointed an accusatory claw at Celibe.

"It couldn't hurt just to leave that open as an option." Articuno said lazily. "I mean what could it hurt?"

"But-"

Began Groudon before he was interrupted by Dialga who stormed into the circle yelling, "All humans need to be wiped from existence! I don't want them enslaved, I want them gone!"

"Absolutely!" came Palkia, "I'll never forget what that so called Team Galactic did to us! They captured us and used our powers to create an alternate dimension. Who knows where their ambitions will lead them next? They've captured nearly every one of us at one time or another!"

"But we were also rescued in every instance by another human who didn't view pokemon as tools but rather as friends." Said Lugia, "I for one can forgive the actions of a few when there are far more out there willing to risk their lives to save us."

"That's not the point!" Dialga yelled back, "the point is that they can catch us and they'll do it again. Who knows, they could imprison every one of us!"

"Enough."

All of them stopped and turned their heads to one small shadow.

"I think we have heard everyone's position on this subject. Unless anyone else would like to add something?" said Mew indicating to the gathered pokemon. When nobody spoke up Mew proceeded to float toward Celibe who had remained at the center the whole time. "May I have the floor?"

"Of course." Celibe said as she retreated to the shadows followed by everyone else who had stepped toward the center.

"Now then, I believe that we have heard all that we need to in order to make an informed decision. The solutions are as follows: wipe the humans from existence, conquer the humans and make them our slaves, or simply do nothing and keep an eye on them. I believe it is time to vote now. All those in favor of enslaving the humans say I."

"I!" shouted Thundrus and Tornadus in unison.

"Very well. As it is only you two voting for that, I think it's fair to say that decision will not have the majority vote." Mew said as Thundrus and Tornadus grumbled in the background.

"All those in favor of inaction and observing the humans for future threats?"

A chorus of I's rang through the air as they cast their vote. "Those in favor of wiping out the human race?"

An equally loud chorus rang through the air.

"18 to 18, It's a tie." Mew said as he rounded on Rayquaza. "Rayquaza, you do not wish to vote?"

"No. As I said before I couldn't care less about what happens to the humans."

"Fair enough. And Articuno, do you feel the same?" Mew asked as he rounded on her. In all the commotion nobody had even realized Articuno hadn't voted, nobody that is except for Mew.

"I don't know." She started to say, "I can't quite decide on which way to vote."

"What are you talking about?!" Goudon shouted, "The only thing to do is nothing because there is no issue!"

"Of course there is!" Celibe interjected, "We need to act now. Articuno I implore you, vote for the destruction of humans."

"Enough." Mew stated calmly. "I believe we have heard enough testimony. Articuno, what is your decision?"

A few tense moments went by as Articuno decided the fate of the entire human race. "Alright, I've made a decision." She said as everyone held their breath in anticipation. "I vote to destroy the human race." She said with icy coolness. Groudon took a sharp intake of breath as he realized what that meant.

"Okay then, it looks like a decision has been made: we will wipe the humans from existence."

"Alright Joe, see you later." Thomas said as he was leaving to go home.

"Alright Thomas," Joe said while waving, "Tell your mother I said hi!"

"Sure thing." Thomas said just as they were about to part ways when suddenly, "Joe, what is that!?"

He said as he rushed to the window.

"Good lord. What's happening?" Joe said as he joined Thomas at the window.

An immense ball of white light was blazing in the sky to the East, so bright that the sun was being out-shined. Before Joe or Thomas could do anything further, they were both thrown back on the floor by a massive shockwave that broke all the windows. The first thing Thomas registered was the fact that he had landed on his back, hard. Every time he tried to move it shot pain throughout his body. From the floor, disoriented and covered with broken glass, Thomas said, "Joe!? Joe, where are you!?" Gritting his teeth Thomas managed to get into a sitting position and started looking around for Joe. His Munchlax lay on the ground next to him un-moving.

"Oh God. Joe?! Where are you?!" he said as he started scanning the ground for any sign of him. At last he saw him; he was laying several feet to his left and appeared to be unconscious. Thomas then remembered what he had seen before the shockwave hit and he looked to the window again. From his position he could still see the glowing orb. Thomas sat there stunned as he watched it grow brighter and brighter. Soon it was getting hard to look at and its light began to penetrate into the store. All he could see was blinding white light wherever he looked and all he could hear was a deafening silence.

"What the?" was the last thing Thomas ever said.

Then the world was white.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-The Beginning

Author's Notes

Welcome to a world where humans never existed. Without humans, pokemon took over the planet as the only sentient species. At first pokemon developed similar to human civilization. They developed tools, houses, a monetary system, medicine; some even had the prowess to develop basic technology. They even gained the ability to learn more moves thanks to their enhanced intelligence. But with the good they shared with human civilization also came the bad. They still had pollution, violence, disease, poverty, but all in all, pokemon developed considerably better than humans did. However, that all changed nearly two-hundred years ago.

Celibe was finally satisfied that humans were wiped out, but that satisfaction only lasted for a short time. Soon Celibe wanted even more control over the planet. She devised a plan to become a sovereign ruler to guide all the pokemon into a more utopian society. After a short time nearly every one of the legendary pokemon that had voted for the destruction of the human race had joined her cause and she amassed an army which has been called the Royal Army. She began by peacefully taking over small towns to gain power. But after a while she wanted more and more control over the world. She began conquering town after town then eventually entire regions growing more powerful as she went. Celibe's empire had conquered nearly every region and every corner of the globe except for one; Hoenn. Her army had been fighting to gain control over it for nearly six years now and have only managed to secure part of the region. This is where the resistance is still fighting and this is where our true story begins.

It was a brisk autumn day and Frank was wiping down the counter at his diner. Frank was an old Munchlax who had owned this small dinner for many years. He had just served his last customer and was getting ready to close up, but before he could he knew he was going to be meeting someone soon. He brushed his hands on the front of his apron and glanced at the clock above the door; 4:58. It was just two minutes before Terrance was going to walk through the door and demand "protection" money. Terrance is a Cacturne with a mean look and a permanent sneer on his hateful face. He's a solider in the Royal Army that went rouge nearly two years ago when he was stationed here. He had been shaking down Frank and every local storekeeper for protection money ever since he arrived. The Royal Army had completely taken over the local police and was powerless to stop him. Frank wasn't much of a fighter either and he was too afraid to stand up for himself. Frank broke out of his thoughts as he spotted Terrance walking down the street towards his dinner. He was being followed by his ever-present lackeys Tim and Tina. Tim and Tina are twin Croagunks that nobody could tell apart, except for Terrance that is.

Once Terrance finally made it to the dinner he opened the door and walked inside.

"Hey Frank." Terrance said with his usual sneer.

"Yeah, hey Frank." Said Tim dimwittedly.

"Shut up idiot," Terrance snapped at Tim, "I just said that."

"Yeah idiot, he just said that." Said Tina equally as dimwittedly.

"I said shut up!" he snapped at both of them then proceeded to walk up to the counter. He walked with a jaunty affirmation that he was tougher than anyone else, but when it came down to any actual fighting, he would always run and hide. In short, Terrance was a pretentious, cowardly, bully that would only extort pokemon he knew he could easily intimidate and over-power.

Once he reached the counter he propped one arm up on the top and leaned toward Frank.

"So Frank, how are you this fine day?"

Frank sighed deeply, "I'm fine Terrance." He said with his head held down.

"That's good." Said Terrance with a sneer. "Do you want to know how I'm doing?" before Frank could answer he said, "I'm doing great because you've just agreed to pay me double our usual rate."

"But…but…" Frank stammered, "I can barely afford what I normally pay you." He said dumfounded.

"Yeah well you know how it goes, the price of livin' goes up and so does your protection money. I mean you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your fine establishment now would you?" and with that, Terrance shot a single barb into the mirror behind the counter producing a spider web of cracks.

"Wait stop!" Frank pleaded, "I don't have enough money now, but if you give me another week-"

"Now Frank, you know our arrangement. You pay me every week and I make sure nothing bad happens to your diner. If you can't pay me," At this point he grabbed the front of Frank's apron and pulled him to the edge of the counter, "We're going to have a problem." Terrance reared back his free arm and was about to strike Frank across the face when he heard a scream behind him.

Terrance dropped his arm and looked over his shoulder to find a dumbfounded Tina. "Tina, where's your brother?" Terrance snapped.

"I don't know." She said sounding confused. "He was here a minute ago."

Terrance wheeled back around to a frightened looking Frank.

"What did you do?!" Terrance demanded.

"I didn't do anything. Honest."

"Liar!" he wheeled back his free arm again but before he could deliver the strike he heard yet another scream from behind.

He spun around once again to discover a deserted dinner behind him. "What the?" he said to himself.

"Alright, what are you-" he said as he turned to question Frank only when he turned, Frank wasn't there. "What's going on?"

"Terrance."

He whipped around to look towards the door and started to scan the area. He could have sworn someone just whispered his name from that direction.

"Terrance."

He whipped around again toward the back of the store. Someone was defiantly whispering his name. He raised both his arms, prepared to shot anything he saw.

"Who's there? Frank is that you?"

"Terrance."

"Frank if that's you, I swear to Arceus I'll-"

"AAAHHHH!"

Terrance was interrupted by a blood curdling scream. He turned in sharp circles scanning the entire diner for who or what made the scream. Panicked, he started shooting off a volley of Pin Missiles in random directions all over the diner. After a short while he stopped and held his breath tensely as he waited for something to happen.

"Mwahaha!"

Terrance jumped when he heard the laughter. It was the kind laughter you only heard in the movies when the evil villain was about to watch the good guy get killed; only this time, it wasn't a movie. He knew that whoever was doing this was just playing with him.

Terrance continued to spin in circles until he heard something that chilled his bones to ice. It was whispered right into his ear with deadly calmness.

"I'm going to kill you now Terrance."

He couldn't take it anymore. He bolted for the door and shoved his way through.

Once he was outside he started running. He was running so fast and so scared he didn't pay attention to where he was going. The next thing he knew he was flat on his face not ten feet from the door to the diner. He looked back to find out what had tripped him to see a root wrapped around his leg. Before Terrance knew what was happening, roots exploded out of the ground all around him. They began wrapping around his body again and again until he was so tightly bound by vines that he could barely turn his head from side to side. Terrance, unsure of what to do began to struggle and cry out for help.

It was at this point that he noticed something out of the corner of his eye; a figure approaching from his right. Terrance struggled to turn his face so he could look at the approaching figure. He finally managed to get enough movement to rotate his head fully to the side. The figure was a Sableye wearing a pair of BlackGlasses walking up to him. Terrance was about to call out to him for help, but before he could, the Sableye removed his BlackGlasses and Terrance saw his eyes. He was transfixed on the Sableye's eyes; they were just so tantalizing that he found it was getting hard to focus. As the Sableye approached he kept a façade of utter calmness. Terrance was still staring into those eyes when the Sableye stopped not three feet in front of him. The Sableye's eyes began to glow red, just a little at first then steadily brighter and brighter. Terrance became dazed and the last thing he saw was the Sableye staring at him with that face of complete calm.

Then he blacked out.

"Well, looks like this was easier than we thought." Came a voice from behind the Sableye. He slowly turned to address the voice and nodded in agreement. The speaker was a Grovyle walking toward him.

"These guys didn't put up much of a fight did they Styx?" The Grovyle said.

The Sableye shook his head and turned back to look at the unconscious Cacturne. He looked up as he heard footsteps to discover the proprietor of the diner running up to them.

"Oh my Arceus! How did you two do that?"

"It wasn't hard; this guy isn't much of a fighter." He said indicating towards Terrance. "We were told that this Royal Army punk was shaking down local store keepers around here, so we were assigned to put a stop to it."

"Assigned?" Frank asked in confusion.

"Yeah we're with the resistance." He said casually, "Speaking of." The Grovyle said as he held his hand in front of him, palm up. He then formed and Energy Ball and thrust his arm upward to shoot it into the sky. "We were supposed to send a signal once we captured these guys."

"A signal for what?" asked Frank doe-eyed.

"That." The Grovyle said simply as four shapes appeared on the horizon. They were drawing closer and closer as Frank looked on in awe. Eventually he could see that the shapes were actually two Staraptors, a Pidgeot, and a Butterfree. Soon they landed and the Butterfree said "Good work guys. Were there any casualties?"

"No, but this one got a few shots off inside the diner." He said using one of his clawed feet to nudge Terrance. "Styx scared the piss out of him and he got all jumpy."

The Butterfree smirked and turned her attention to the bird pokemon behind her. "Alright you lot, prepare him for transport."

"Yes Ma'am!" they said in unison.

Turning her attention back to the Grovyle she said, "I thought there were supposed to be three of them?"

"I got the other two off to the side of the building all wrapped up. This one was the only one that tried to make a run for it."

She nodded, "You!" she said pointing to the Pidgeot, "Go get them!"

"Yes ma'am!" and with that he flew off to the side of the diner to get Tim and Tina. Soon he returned with the two of them in his talons. They were both wrapped together with one large vine, each struggling furiously to escape. As soon as the Pidgeot set them in front of the Butterfree she said, "Alright enough of that." And with that she surrounded the two of them in a Sleep Powder and they instantly fell asleep. "You two," she indicated to the two Staraptors, "carry this one," she said nodding to Terrance, "And you carry those two. Alright let's go!"

"Yes Ma'am!" and with that they left.

"Where are they going?" asked Frank in awe.

"Prison." The Grovyle said simply. "The resistance has a place set up to house people like that.

"I've heard rumors about that place; I just didn't think that it actually existed."

"Well it does and it's also impregnable. You'll never have to worry about him again. Sorry about your place though; do you need any help fixing it?"

"Oh no you two have down enough for me." He said gratefully. "I've always hated that so-called Royal Army and I appreciate what you have done for me. If there's anything I can do for you guys name it."

"That's not necessary."

"Well can I at least get your names?"

"I'm Arbor and this," he said indicating the Sableye "Is Styx. He doesn't talk much but he's good at what he does." Styx nodded to Frank in response.

"Well thank you again."

"No problem." He said shaking Frank's hand. "Well Styx we should be getting back to HQ now."

Styx nodded once more and they turned to leave to begin the long journey back to the resistance HQ.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-The Wall

Far away on the other side of the Hoenn region sits the resistance's headquarters. The headquarters is a large, heavily armed facility located in what used to be Sootopolis city. Long ago, when the resistance was just forming, they were looking for a suitable place to establish an HQ. Sootopolis made a perfect secure location because of the natural barriers surrounding it such as the ocean and the sheer cliff face of the volcanic crater it's nestled in. Once the resistance built their HQ, they renamed Sootopolis to New Hope and transformed it into a purely military city.

The actual headquarters building is built in the very center of the crater surrounded by the small former town of Sootopolis. They've come to call this building The Wall because it is the last thing stopping Celibe's army from marching in and taking the entire Hoenn region by force. This is where a boat full of new recruits is heading in order to be trained to fight the Royal Army.

"Well it looks like our new shipment of recruits is coming in today." Said a burly looking Hitmonchan. He was standing in a watch tower on the rim of the crater and had just spotted a boat approaching from the west.

"Hey wait, isn't there some new master sergeant coming in with them?" asked a Rapidash also on guard duty.

"Yeah, he served over in Dewford and now General Douse is special ordering him to come here."

"Why?" asked the Rapidash.

"Dunno, but rumor has it that the general needs him for some kind of special assignment."

"Special assignment? What do you mean?"

"Well," The Hitmonchan said scratching his chin, "It's just a rumor but, word has it that he's very important to winning this war."

"Dang that sounds kinda cool." The Rapidash said. After a tentative pause he asked, "So what is he anyway?"

"I think he's a Lucario and they say that he single handedly won the Battle of Dewford."

"Wow. I hope he's as good as you say. He'll need that skill if he's going on some kind of special assignment."

"Yeah no kidding. Hey Ted," The Hitmonchan said while turning to face an Exploud sleeping in the corner, "wake up and sound the alarm."

"Why are we under attack?" he said keeping his eyes closed and stifling a yawn.

"No, that boat of new recruits is coming in."

"Alright then." Ted said as he stood up with a grown. He walked to the edge of the tower and,

"WHOOOOO…WHOOOOO…WHOOOOO"

He produced three long drawn out siren noises to alert the dock workers below that the boat was approaching.

Meanwhile aboard the _S.S. Whiscash_ was the master sergeant, Ore Areeder. He was standing on the bow of the ship watching the approaching cliff face grow larger and larger while the boat softly rocked up and down beneath him. He breathed in deeply and let it out slow to calm his nerves. He could smell the salt being carried in on the warm breeze as it gently blew through his fur. He had just been fighting in the Battle of Dewford and now he had an order from General Douse to report to New Hope immediately. He didn't know why the General had wanted him in the first place. All he did know is that shortly after the resistance won the battle and re-captured Dewford city, he was promoted to master sergeant and immediately shipped out to New Hope. As Ore thought about why he was on this boat heading for New Hope several scenarios started to play out in his head; he could have been sent here to help train the new recruits or maybe it was to be personally thanked by General Douse for helping recapture Dewford. Or maybe the general was going to tell him that his promotion was a mistake or he was being put in jail for some crime he might have committed, or worse, he was receiving a dishonorable discharge. Ore took a deep breath, he was freaking himself out. He didn't know what was going to happen and worrying about it wouldn't help. Ore glanced up and looked at the place where his future would be decided. One thing was for sure; whatever awaited him in New Hope would be better than fighting back in Dewford…right?

Soon the boat had docked outside of New Hope. Ore was standing with his hands locked around the ship's railing staring at the top of the crater when the boat captain walked up to him.

"Don't you think you should be getting off now?" The old sea-worn Psyduck said with a smile.

"Yeah sorry." Ore said breaking out of his daze. He looked around and saw the last few passengers getting off the boat. He looked back towards the captain and said, "Thanks for the lift."

"Don't mention it." The Psyduck said with a large smile.

Ore nodded towards the captain and hefted his duffle bag of belongings onto his back. He squared his shoulders and started for the gangplank and down to the dock.

He looked towards the cave at the end of the dock that would take him and the recruits to the inside of the crater and started walking toward it. On either side of the cave were two massive Rhyperiors standing at attention. Ore had done some research on New Hope before arriving and knew that they were there in order to collapse the cave in the case of a siege. They glared down at him as if sizing him up as he neared. He hurriedly shuffled past them and into the long dimly lit cave. He walked through the cave for several hundred feet until he eventually found daylight on the other side. Once he reached the end of the cave, he realized the exit was positioned a hundred feet above the crater floor. Once Ore looked up to take in the city his jaw dropped. The inside was more breathtakingly beautiful than he ever imagined. The sheer cliff face of the surrounding crater seemed to focus one's vision straight onto the crystal clear lake in the center. The lake had an outstanding mirror-like quality that reflected the quaint little town surrounding it. The picturesque bright blue sky above framed the entire surreal image in an everlasting splendor. With the glowing sun and cloudless heavens it was hard not to marvel at the sight. At the very center of it all was the most magnificent building Ore had ever set his eyes on that could only be The Wall. It was in the middle of the lake on a small island. The large building was stylized after a roman temple with large columns on either side of its massive front doors and a massive arched roof. Ore snapped out of his daze as he realized he needed to meet General Douse at The Wall. He took one last look at the sight and walked down the gradual slope that led to the crater floor.

As Ore walked down toward The Wall he noticed that the recruits were being ushered to the barracks for debriefing and introductions. He had remembered the first time he arrived in Dewford and received a similar treatment. Boot camp was nothing but being yelled at, eating, drills, workout, eat, more yelling, more drills, and finally sleep only to wake up the next morning to start all over again. Those poor recruits have no ideas what they're getting into Ore thought to himself. He was just grateful that he no longer had to deal with that.

Once Ore reached flat ground he made his way to the small bridge that spanned the lake. As he walked he started to take in the city around him. It was smaller than he expected and with the exception of one or two military vehicles driving around he would have thought it was any other ordinary town. He noticed several small children running around and a couple of shopkeepers opening their stores for the day. He even saw some pokemon playing in a park nearby. He couldn't believe that a place of such peace still existed after what he saw in Dewford. These pokemon probably had no idea of how bad it really was beyond these walls. He instantly wished he could be like them, simply enjoying a beautiful autumn day, to be blissfully ignorant and thinking there was nothing wrong with the world.

Without realizing it, Ore had reached the bridge that would take him across to The Wall putting an abrupt stop to his daydreaming. Ore looked back at the cave he had arrived in one last time and took a deep breath to calm his nerves as walked across to The Wall. He noticed General Douse was waiting for him when he arrived at the front entrance.

"Master sergeant Ore Areeder, welcome to New Hope!" He bellowed as he offered Ore a hand shake. General Douse was an old Farfetch'd that had led the resistance forces for almost forty years. He was battle-hardened and a brilliant strategist making him the ideal candidate for a general position.

"General Douse sir, it's an honor to be here." He said as he shook his "hand".

"So I'm sure you're wondering why I've assigned you to New Hope." He said with a gruff voice.

"Yes sir, I am" Ore said tentatively.

"Well let's take a walk inside and I'll explain everything." He said simply as he turned and walked through the massive front doors.

"The reason I've called you here, is because I've been playing around with an idea." Douse said some time later ten stories below The Wall.

"What idea is that sir?" Ore asked nervously. They were currently walking down a set of stairs on their way to floor B-10. On the way Ore kept glancing nervously down at General Douse. He didn't dare ask him why he was here and instead waited for the general to tell him.

"Well, obviously we've been trying to stop Celibe and her royal army with direct attacks up until now with little success." He said as they reached the bottom of the last staircase and stepped into a long dimly lit hallway. "Her palace is to heavily fortified for us to do any real damage, so the war council has been mulling over the notion that what we need to do is use stealth and cunning to take out Celibe without having to deal with getting through the Royal Guard. The idea is simple; attack her palace directly with our main forces to distract her while a small elite group goes behind the scenes to take her out." Douse stopped to look at Ore to see if he understood what he was saying.

"Okay but what's this have to do with me?" Ore asked anxiously, "And where are we going?"

"We're going to The Gate; the nerve center of The Wall and as for what this has to do with you will be explained later." He said as they continued to walk down the long hallway

"There is something else you should probably know." General Douse said after a long pause. "What most civilians don't know is, that legendary pokemon still exist."

"Legendary pokemon? I thought they were all extinct except Celibe."

"That's what most pokemon think to. What's more is that they are actually playing an active role in the war, in fact we have a few on our side fighting for the resistance."

"What?" Ore said in disbelief

"The legendary pokemon are still alive and fighting in the war. Didn't you just here me say that? Clean your ears out boy."

"Wait, but that's crazy. How could there be legendary pokemon fighting in the war without anyone else knowing about it?" Ore asked with a confused look on his face.

Because they wield immense power and have the ability to command nature itself. Didn't you ever read the old stories about the legendries?"

"Yeah but I just assumed they were stories… Wait, if they're so powerful why don't they just put a stop to the war?"

"Because Celibe has legendries that joined her side as well. Long ago they split off into two factions; one that joined Celibe and the other that banded together to stop her. They have been fighting from both sides ever since all this started." The general said as they rounded a corner.

Ore was at a loss for words. His entire interpretation of the world had just been shattered and reshaped. He had read stories of the incredible power the legendries of olden times possessed and to think that creatures with that much awe-inspiring power were still alive was insane. Fed up with frustration Ore asked testily,

"Sir how do you know all of this?"

Douse just looked up at him with a sly smile and said,

"Follow me and I'll show you." They had stopped in front of an automatic door with a numbered access pad off to the side. Douse proceeded to press several buttons with his leek stalk and the door swished open in a rush of cool air.

"Whoa." Was all Ore could say as he tried to take in all that he saw. They walked into a large circular room with doors dotted around the edge leading off in several directions. On the far wall were several large computer screens displaying a myriad of different things. In the center of the room was a raised dais with keyboards, control panels and several other things that Ore didn't recognize sitting on top of it. It appeared to be a control station for all the monitors on the wall. The most shocking thing however, were the hulking forms of two pokemon facing the computer screens.

"Are those…" Ore said his mouth agape.

"Yup. The legendary pokemon of yore; Groudon and Giratina." The general said stoically

"Whoa that's incredible."

At that moment Groudon turned to address the general.

"General Douse," he said, "The royal navy is hammering us from the south near Slateport. They need more troops down there to hold off the assault."

"Do they have warships?"

"No, just two regiments of water types and one of flying types."

"Hmmm; okay we'll need to send in a shock regiment and probably the 32nd. We might want to send in the 45th as well."

"The 32nd and 45th? That won't stop two full regiments of water types let alone the flying regiment."

"We're not trying to stop them, we just need to hold them off for now and minimize casualties."

"Why?"

"Because we're putting our plan into action soon and we can't afford to send down to many troops."

"Oh," Groudon looked hard at Ore, "Is this him then?"

"Yes, and I was just about to get introductions under way."

"What about those other two?"

"We have reports they just finished up and are on their way here."

"Alright then. I'll give the word about sending those troops." Groudon gave one more look to Ore and nodded before turning back to the computer screens.

"Come on kid, I've got some people I want to introduce you to."

"Holy crap that was…that was…" Ore stammered out.

"Yes, Groudon. Clean your ears out kid I already explained that." Douse said as he grabbed Ore's arm and steered him to one of the many doors around the room. "Come on I need to finish explaining that idea I was telling you about."

They entered one of the doors and stepped into a long hallway with several windows on either side. The windows were staggered on each side and spaced about a hundred feet apart. "Remember how I was telling you about that small team to take down Celibe?"

"Yes sir." Ore said uneasily.

"Well any good team needs a leader and I think you would be perfect for the job."

Author's Notes

Just imagine The Gate (the big circle room they stepped into in the end) as any spy headquarters you've seen in movies, that's what I was trying to describe. By the way, do you guys think I'm being too lengthy on my chapters by describing too much and not getting to the point? Leave a review and tell me how you're enjoying the story so far and any improvements I can make!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-The Team

"Me sir?" Ore asked in disbelief.

"Yes you, soldier. I've read your reports from Dewford and I think you show real potential of a natural born leader."

"But sir, I got through that battle mostly on luck not to mention I had an entire army to back me up and-"

"You're being too modest." Interrupted Douse, "Commander Biech told me you showed great bravery and that we would have lost that battle if it weren't for you. I can't think of anyone else I would rather have as the leader of this team."

"But sir, I'm completely inexperienced and I'm not sure if I can lead a team"

"Well I know for a fact that you can lead this team," Douse said with absolute conviction, "and as for the inexperience, leading a team on a dangerous mission is a great way to gain some. How do you think you gain experience anyway? From reading books and training? No, you gain it out on the field."

"But sir-"Ore started.

"Enough." Interrupted Douse, "The bottom line is; we need someone to lead this team. I know you can do it; that's why I picked you out of the other hundreds of possible candidates. This is your chance to make a real difference in the world, to finally put a stop to Celibe's tyranny. Now are you going to rise to the occasion? Or are you going to fade back into obscurity?"

Ore's mind was racing. He had no idea what it took to lead a team. If he did take on this dangerous mission and failed, there was a high chance that he could get himself and his entire team killed. They could even be taken prisoner and tortured for information. Ore shuddered at the thought. Thinking about the extreme risk involved in leading the team, he thought about the possibility of refusing the general's request. As soon as he considered it he knew that it wasn't an option. If he refused, the general could arrest him for insubordination or make the rest of his life in the army a living hell. Besides Ore knew he wouldn't refuse; he had never backed down from a challenge before. You could call Ore a lot of things but coward was not one of them. Nervous and anxious maybe but he was no coward. Every time he was faced with a challenge he always tackled it head on. He knew that he only had one option and with a heavy sigh he said,

"I…I will try to lead this team sir." He said with a salute.

"Look kid, I don't need you to try, I need you to do. Now can you do this or not?"

"Yes sir." Ore said with more conviction this time.

"Then let me hear you say so." The general said with a deadly seriousness in his eyes.

"I will lead this team sir." Ore said firmly.

"Good." Douse said his demeanor relaxing. "I think it's time to meet your team then." He said sweeping a hand down the hall.

"Where are they?"

"In the training rooms. Behind these one-way mirrors," He said gesturing to the windows along the hall, "are rooms we use to train special soldiers." Douse walked over to the closest window and said, "Your first teammate is in this room and I think you may know him."

Ore was curious so he followed the general and stood next to him at the window.

"No way, Is that…?"Ore said with a smile.

"Yup. He's the first one I picked to go on your team; I thought he would make a good second in command. He's one hell of a shot isn't he?"

"No kidding. Man, I haven't seen him in years."

Ore was looking through the window down into a large room that resembled a gymnasium complete with tile floors and cinderblock walls. On the far side of the room were several targets set up in a random sequence. Standing below the window was a Drapion shooting at the targets with a combination of Poison Sting and Pin Missile. Every barb he shot found a perfect bull's eye with incredible precision.

"That's nothing, just look at what this kid can really do." Douse walked over to a control panel by the window and pressed several buttons. Suddenly hundreds of hatches opened up on the floor, walls and ceiling of the room. Ore watched in awe as hundreds of targets sprang from them until the entire room was filled with wall to wall targets. Some of the targets were stationary while some moved on mounted tracks or rotated quickly in place. The Drapion just smiled and, without hesitation, shot a volley of barbs in all directions. It was mesmerizing to watch as every shot found a perfect bull's eye with such speed and fluidity it was as if it were a dream. In the time it took Ore's heart to beat three times, the Drapion had hit every target and was standing motionless in the center of the room, poised to take another shot. The general pushed a button on the control panel and spoke into a speaker.

"You missed one." Came the general's voice from a loud speaker inside the room.

The Drapion looked up to see a target, no bigger than a penny, on the ceiling one hundred feet above his head. He casually pointed his tail at the target and shot one single barb dead center of it. He looked to the one-way window and smiled.

"Is that better?" Came his voice from the speaker.

"Yes." The general said back. "Why don't you come on up, I've got an old friend here that wants to say hi."

"Oh-kay." The Drapion said, puzzled as he proceeded to exit the training room.

Moments later he entered the hallway through a door set into the wall. Once he noticed Ore his face lit up and a small smile played across his face.

"Holy crap. Ore!" he said as he went to embrace his old friend.

"It's good to see you Osiris." Ore said as he clasped his friend on the back.

As they pulled apart Osiris asked, "So how have you been?"

"Well I just got here from fighting in the battle of Dewford, I was made a master sergeant and oh yeah, I just agreed to lead an elite team to take down an evil tyrant." Ore said with a smile.

"You never told us that Ore was going to be our leader." Osiris said casually to general Douse.

"I hadn't made my choice until recently plus I thought it would be better if you saw it for yourself."

"Wait, you knew about the mission?" Ore asked Osiris.

"Yeah all of us do. We've all been training and living together for some time now."

"All of us as in the rest of the team?"

"Yeah, hasn't general Douse told you anything?" Osiris asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Not really." Ore said casting a glance toward the general, "He just told me that I would be leading some team to take down Celibe."

General Douse looked up at Ore with a sly smile and said, "Your entire team has been here for a few years now, some more than others, but they all knew they were being trained for a mission to take down Celibe. What they didn't know was who was going to be their leader or exactly what the specifics of their mission were. And like I said I was still looking for the perfect leader to initiate our plan, plus some of them needed time to get ready." The general turned towards the Drapion and said, "Osiris, why don't you go and get something to eat while I introduce Ore here to the rest of your teammates. I'll gather you and the rest of the team for debriefing later."

"Alright then." Osiris said as he was turning to leave. "It was good seeing you again Ore."

"You too." He said as Osiris was leaving. Once he had left Ore asked, "Just how many pokemon are on this team I'm leading anyway sir?"

"Uhhh…I think there's twelve total."

"Well I guess we should get going then."

"That's the spirit! Let's get to it." Douse said as he turned and walked further down the long hallway.

"I think that Camila is up in this next room." Douse said some time later.

"Who's Camila?" asked Ore.

"An Altaria that has been training to be on your team." He said stopping at a window.

"Here she is. Come take a look." He said gesturing to the window.

Ore stepped up to the window and peered through. The room inside was similar to the other with the exception of what appeared to be an aerial obstacle course taking up most of the space. The obstacle was made up of floating walls, hoops (some of which were on fire), and multiple laser arrays. As Ore examined the obstacle course an Altaria suddenly shot out from behind one of the walls. Ore watched as she flew at an alarming speed straight toward another floating wall. He let out a gasp as she pulled up mere inches from the wall narrowly avoiding it. She flew up and over the top of the wall and shot through a ring of fire barely a foot in width only to appear on the other side completely unscathed.

"Dang."

"Agile little thing isn't she?" the general said with a smile. "Quite the looker to." Douse added under his breath.

"What was that sir?" Ore asked.

"Uhhh…Ahem, well let's go see the rest of your team." Douse said hurriedly.

"I thought I was going to meet her."

"There's no time, I just wanted you to see your team going through some drills so you can see what you have to work with. Don't worry though, you can meet them all later." Douse said as he headed further down the hall.

"Alright sir." Ore took one last look at Camila as she flew through the rest of the course effortlessly before he turned and followed Douse down the hall.

They had been walking down the hall for nearly five minutes before Ore asked, "So what other types of pokemon are going to be on this team?"

"Let's see…" Douse said as they rounded a corner. "Well there's a Grumpig, she's a great healer, there's also a Wartortle, an Aggron who's one tough S.O.B., an Onix, a Grovyle, a Sableye, Makuhita, and you've already meet Camila and Osiris. Right now we're going to go see a Typhlosion named Reicart."

Ore quietly absorbed all this as he thought about what he had to work with as far as strength, stealth, and other qualities that would actually be useful in the upcoming mission. He continued mulling this over until he noticed they were approaching a Whismur starring into one of the many windows.

"Good morning Annabelle." Douse said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

The Whismur, not noticing their approach, jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Oh… h-hello general Douse." Annabelle said in a meek voice.

"Annabelle this is master sergeant Ore Areeder," Douse said in the same gentle voice, "remember how I was looking for a leader for the team? Well this is him."

She stared at the ground and said, "Oh umm… hello." She said to Ore barley above a whisper.

"Annabelle where is your brother? I'm sure Ore would like to see him in action."

"Oh well… he's in the cold lock." She said pointing to the window.

"Umm sir?" Ore asked.

"What is it?" Douse said.

"Well I thought we were here to see a Typhlosion sir." Ore said confused.

"We are. Annabelle and Reicart are adoptive siblings." The general answered simply.

"Oh" Ore said awkwardly. To cover his embarrassment he turned to the window Annabelle pointed at and saw a thick sheet of frost covering it.

He cocked an eyebrow and asked, "How cold is it in there sir?"

"Negative seventy-two." Douse said proudly. "I designed it myself as a way to train fire types. It's basically an obstacle course in the freezing cold complete with icicle cannons, frost hoses, and blizzard makers."

Ore stepped up to peer inside and saw a room very much the same size and shape as the others. The difference was that everything in this room was covered in frost and snow. The obstacle course inside was complete with walls, gaps, nozzles, and what appeared to be ballistae placed randomly around the room. Ore swept his vision across the room until he saw the Typhlosion. Reicart was in the process of dodging a barrage of icicles being fired from a ballista attached to a wall. Ore had to admit that this Typhlosion was fast and could really keep his cool under fire. He watched as Reicart sprinted fearlessly towards the ballista dodging icicles along the way. He got within fifty feet and launched a volley of Swift at the ballista. The stars raced toward the mounted cannon and exploded on impact. Once the smoke from the collision subsided all that was left where the ballista once stood was a gaping hole in the wall.

"Man, he's got some power on him." Ore said in earnest.

"Yeah, that's why I picked him. He's got a lot of fight in him and I thought he would make a great addition to the team. Annabelle here will also be going with you." Douse said sweeping a hand to the Whismur.

"Ummm sir?" said Ore in disbelief. He couldn't believe that such a small and timid pokemon was going with them on such a dangerous mission.

"I promise to be brave. I bet I won't even cry." She said trying to sound fearless.

"Well okay." Ore said in bewilderment, "It's a pleasure to have you." He said offering her a hand shake.

She stared at the hand for a while before tentatively grasping it and giving it a shake.

"Um thank you." She added meekly.

"Come on we need to get going." The general said while walking away.

"Yes sir." Ore said breaking his grip with Annabelle.

Ore took one last look at Reicart as he was being blasted by what looked like a concentrated blizzard. He turned and started walking after Douse. Once they got out of ear shot from Annabelle, Ore asked,

"Sir, Is she really going on the mission with us?"

"Yeah, I know how you feel. I don't like it either, but Reicart said that if she doesn't go he wouldn't."

"Why did he say that?"

"She and Reicart have been inseparable ever since they arrived, they're almost never apart. I guess that's why he wanted to take her on the mission with him, to keep an eye on her." The general explained.

"But what if she gets hurt? I doubt that she could handle any real combat."

Douse chuckled then said, "Don't underestimate Reicart; he would never let her get hurt. He's crazy protective about her and would give his life to protect her."

"Are you sure about this sir?"

The general looked up at him with a smile and said, "No, but do you want to tell Reicart that his sister has to stay here?"

Ore's silence answered the general's question.

Sometime later Douse said, "I think Arcadia is up ahead here. She's the Grumpig who's going to join your team."

"Is she the one that's a great healer?"

"The best I could find. You'll need her for your mission incase…something goes amiss."

"Okay." Ore said absentmindedly.

"Here we are." Douse said stopping at a window. "This room is for psychic types to refine their blocking skills. It's all about using shields to not get hit."

Ore looked in and not surprisingly this room looked similar to the others. Inside was a Grumpig standing poised as if waiting for something to happen. Suddenly a missile shot out of the wall on the far side of the room at an alarming speed. It was heading straight for Arcadia, but before it could hit she projected an immense wall of light. The rocket exploded against the wall and she was left unscathed. A second later another rocket shot from the opposite wall. Arcadia spun around and thrust her hand out toward the rocket. It started glow a light blue then slowed to a stop as she held it in her psychic power. With a concentrated look on her face she dropped her hand and smashed to rocket to the floor. It exploded on impact sending up a shower of tile.

"Missiles sir?"

"Well she's the one who requested them. Plus they're low yield; they probably wouldn't even kill her."

"Well that's good to know." Ore said sarcastically. He looked back at Arcadia as two pistons shot out of opposite walls heading right for her. Arcadia formed a bubble of light around her as the two sections of wall slammed into it with such force that it shook the window. The pistons began to glow blue and, gritting her teeth, Arcadia forced the two pistons back into their places in the wall.

"Dang." Ore said quietly.

Douse looked up at him with a smile and said, "Come on Ore." he said as the general steered him away. "I'll show you the two rock types on your team."

"Okay." Ore said breaking out of his daze. He turned and followed the general as he walked off down the hall.

As they headed down the hallway Douse said, "These next two are an Aggron named Ronan and an Onix named Ruka."

"Are they in the same room sir?"

"Yes, they're sparring up ahead. Ruka is a little dull, but she's a damn good burrower and Ronan can do things with the ground that I've never seen any other rock type do."

"Like what sir?"

"Why don't you come see for yourself." Douse said stopping at a window.

Ore peered in and was surprised to see the room beyond. It was different from the others in that it appeared to be some kind of cave.

"This room is a natural formation we found in the ground and we use it to train rock types." The general explained.

In the middle of the cavern-like room, Ore saw a writhing Onix being held in a headlock by a large, muscular Aggron. The Onix reared up and using her tail smashed the Aggron across the side of the head. Ronan reeled back from the blow and let go of Ruka's head. They both moved a few paces away from each other and prepared for the next attack. Suddenly Ronan brought his leg up and slammed it on the ground causing a spire of rock to erupt directly under Ruka launching her into the air. She was thrown back into the wall as Ronan formed a glowing white orb in between his horns. Before Ruka could recover, Ronan launched the fully formed Flash Cannon at her which exploded in a flash of light.

"Just between you and me, Ronan could beat her ass any day of the week, but Ruka's still a good fighter." After a pause he added, "We should be going now." Ore, having gotten used to the procedure, followed Douse without another word.

"How many team members are there left to see sir?"

"Uhhh…two." Douse said after some thought. "A Wartortle named Katrina and a Makuhita named Tyber."

"Who are we going to now sir?"

"Their actually next to each other further up here." Douse said nodding towards the end of the hall. "We're going to see Katrina first; she's in what we call the aqua room."

Once they reached a window near the end of the hallway, Douse stopped.

"Take a look." He said sweeping a hand towards the window.

Ore peered inside and could hardly believe what he was looking at; the room was twice the size of the other ones and didn't have a floor. Instead the entire room was filled with what appeared to be a miniature ocean complete with floating platforms on its surface.

"This room is where we train all our water types in everything from speed and agility, to water manipulation and strength. Right now Katrina's using our artificial current maker to work on her speed and endurance."

Ore looked down to the Wartortle below as she was swimming against a powerful current in the middle of the massive indoor sea.

"Not only is she a decent fighter, but she's one hell of a mechanic and I've never seen a piece of technology that she couldn't hack, fix, or build. She'll be pretty useful to your team. And over here is Tyber." He said as he walked across the hall to a rather small room. Ore peered inside to see a Makuhita throwing a flurry of punches at a practice dummy.

"He's a little wet behind the ears," the general said nodding toward Tyber, "But he's a good kid and I figured he could learn a thing or two from you."

"Me sir?"

"Yes. That's why I assigned him to your team."

"How long has he been training here sir? He's looks pretty young."

"He is, he's only been here for about two years now."

"Are you sure he's up for the challenge sir?" Ore asked skeptically.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but I think this will be good for him, and for you. You two can look after each other on the mission, just keep him safe and bring him back alive."

"Yes sir." Ore said uneasily. He didn't know what the general meant when he said that it would be good for both of them if Tyber came on the mission. He decided to trust the general and do what he said.

"Well," Douse said cheerfully, "That wraps up our little tour and the first look at your future team. So what do you think?"

"Honestly sir I'm still a little nervous, but after seeing such a well-qualified group as these pokemon, I think we might be able to pull it off."

"That's good to hear. Now you have a few hours to kill before the debriefing."

"What is the debriefing about sir?"

With a devious smile general Douse said, "You'll see soon enough. As for those few hours you have to kill you may want to spend them up top in the town. There are plenty of things to do and I'm sure the others will be going up soon, you may even run into a few of them."

"Okay."

"I trust you can find your way back out. I have some things to take care of."

"Yes sir."

"Alright soldier, dismissed."

Ore saluted him and said, "Yes sir."

And with that they parted ways.


End file.
